


Help! I've Fallen For You And I Can't Get Up!

by baozisdragon



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Short & Sweet, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22724260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baozisdragon/pseuds/baozisdragon
Summary: Hyunwoo goes along with his friends to a Valentine's Day singles mixer with no interest in finding anyone. Someone there changes his mind.
Relationships: Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Son Hyunwoo | Shownu
Kudos: 95





	Help! I've Fallen For You And I Can't Get Up!

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this real fast bc i felt the moral obligation to put out some valentine's themed showho  
> this is kind of pointless but i hope you enjoy anyway !

Hyunwoo shouldn’t even be surprised at Minhyuk’s suggestions anymore. Not with the truly confounding history of things the man has brought up to him before. Really, a gay singles mixer on Valentine’s Day isn’t the craziest thing Minhyuk has dragged him to. The most embarrassing though? Maybe.

A half hour into the thing and Hyunwoo hasn’t left his tiny corner table once. He’d been abandoned by Minhyuk and then Changkyun, who had also been coerced into coming, nearly as soon as they’d walked through the door. Minhyuk himself had locked eyes with a handsome stranger at the bar almost immediately and walked right on over to plop into the seat beside him. Changkyun, pretending to be annoyed, chose a lone seat at the bar a few stools down and struck up a conversation with the bartender. Hyunwoo, abandoned, made his lonesome way over to the first empty table he saw.

If it just so happened to be the one furthest from the majority of people? Simple coincidence.

The thing is, Hyunwoo isn’t particularly into the one night stand scene. He’s not against it, and he certainly indulged in his college years, but now, just a few short years until he hits his thirties, he finds himself a little burnt out on the idea. The transactional way that those nights normally go leave more bitter on his tongue than sweet. Maybe he’s just a romantic, or a bleeding heart, but some quiet part of him longs for a connection more than skin deep. Love, instead of lust. And looking around the small bar, eyes catching hands resting on lower backs and tongues darting out over eager lips, he doubts that he’ll find that here.

But he’s terrible at turning Minhyuk down, and so here he is. He consoles himself by promising to keep an eye on his younger friends, make sure they aren’t taken advantage of, as he settles himself into his tall seat.

The bar is in the center of Itaewon, situated on the fourth floor of a tall, thin building in the infamous gay district. It’s a small space, intimate, lit lowly. Paper hearts on garlands hang from the low light fixtures, making a few of the taller patrons, himself included, have to duck beneath them. Every table is decorated with a centerpiece of a single rose in a small glass vase, a laminated card advertising the special Valentine’s themed drink menu, and a handful of pink and red confetti, scattered across the table’s surface. Hyunwoo picks up the menu, hoping to pass the time.

The first thing that catches his eye is the illustration on the very top, showing the silhouette of two male cupids aiming their heart-tipped arrows at each other. It’s actually pretty cute. The drinks themselves are listed below, beside small, grainy pictures of the finished products. Just as he brings the placard closer to his face, trying to make sense of one of the blurrier pictures, a voice pipes up from his right.

“Having trouble deciding?” 

Hyunwoo looks over.

An employee seems to have snuck up on him in his cozy corner, spinning an empty tray in his hands. He’s got a pretty standard waitstaff uniform on with a white shirt buttoned up to his throat and a black apron tied high on his waist, all except for the bright pink hair styled up off his face, and the shimmery heart-shaped sticker stuck onto his cheek, just below his eye. Taking in all these details, Hyunwoo is silent for long enough that the waiter clears his throat. Hyunwoo snaps back into focus with an apologetic grin.

“Sorry. I promise I’m not drunk already.”

The waiter laughs. He’s handsome, Hyunwoo suddenly realizes. Extremely so.

“Don’t worry about it. Are you still looking over the menu?”

Hyunwoo picks it up off of the table to quickly scan it, saying the first drink that registers. They all sounded good anyway, so he doesn’t care what he gets.

“Uhh, how about a blushing geisha?”

“Excellent choice.” The man says with a smile. “I’ll have that out in just a second.”

Before he walks off, he winks. Hyunwoo’s breathing stutters in his chest. He tries not to watch the man walk away, and only catches the bright fuchsia of his hair disappearing behind the bar in his periphery. He swipes a hand over his face to make sure he hadn’t started sweating.

Wouldn’t that be just like him? Going to a singles mixer and having his eye caught by one of the few people in the room who aren’t even there for that reason? He’s suddenly glad that his friends ditched him. Neither of them would have let him live this down. 

While he waits for his drink, he can’t seem to get the handsome waiter out of his mind. His pretty eyes, soft mouth, smooth skin… if Hyunwoo had a physical ideal type, this man would hit every last bullet point. But he doesn’t, so why is he even affecting him so much?

Getting rid of these pesky thoughts with a symbolic shake of his head, Hyunwoo surveys the room for his friends. Minhyuk is in the same spot he’s been in this whole time, still talking with that first man. He’s smiling wide, white teeth dazzling. From his angle, Hyunwoo can just see where Minhyuk has one of the stranger’s hands between his own, absently playing with his fingers. Feeling a little voyeuristic, Hyunwoo looks away. He eventually lands on Changkyun, who has moved into one of the booths along the far wall. He’s seated with two others, chatting idly with each of them. Changkyun looks up as he takes a drink from the bottle in his hand just in time to catch Hyunwoo’s eye. He waves him over. 

Hyunwoo fights a flush as the two heads on the opposite bench turn to look at him with interest. Changkyun doubles his efforts, pretending to lasso him and pull him over. He must have already finished a couple drinks if he’s already acting this cheesy. Hyunwoo makes a shoo-ing gesture. Changkyun pouts, and Hyunwoo chuckles to himself at his cute younger friend.

“You should go over there.”

This time, when the waiter sneaks up on him, Hyunwoo actually jumps. He whips around to find the same man from earlier, holding his tray perfectly level now with a single glass in the middle.

“I’m sorry?,” Hyunwoo asks.

“You should go over there!” The man says. “He’s cute, and he obviously likes you.”

Hyunwoo can’t help it, he bursts into giddy laughter. The waiter cocks his head in confusion while Hyunwoo gets himself under control. He catches Changkyun out of the corner of his eye, watching him curiously.

Seeing the look on the man’s face, Hyunwoo apologizes. “He’s one of the people I came here with, he’s practically my little brother,” he explains. “He just wants to set me up with one of the guys he found.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Hyunwoo waves it off. “But I think you should still go over there. The whole point of this thing is to meet people, if you weren’t aware.” The man’s tone is playful and not mean, so Hyunwoo only shrugs, still smiling just a little.

“I’m just here to look after him and our other friend. This isn’t exactly my scene.”

“What is your scene, then? The gym, maybe?”

Hyunwoo’s eyebrows raise up as he catches the grin on the waiter’s face, and how his eyes make a short, zigzagging trail down the parts of him visible above the table. Now, he may be a little bit rusty, but that sure as hell sounded like flirting to him. Trying his luck, he fires back.

“Coming from you? I’m flattered.” And he’s not exaggerating. The way the man’s build strains at the almost translucent fabric of his shirt is a little more than eye-catching, and Hyunwoo can’t pretend he hadn’t noticed the man’s back view as he’d walked away earlier.

“That must be the second thing we have in common, then.”

“What’s the first?”

“That we’re both at a gay bar on Valentine’s Day for reasons other than getting laid,” he says, cheeky, as he sets Hyunwoo’s drink down on the table.

Hyunwoo starts laughing again. He’s still laughing as he takes the stemless wine glass into his hand, swirling the mixture of ice and pink tinted liquor around. A plump plum blossom tumbles and flips as he does. He takes a hearty sip. The tangy pomegranate juice blankets his tongue, the alcohol warming his throat and emboldening him.

“I think a third would count as fate.”

An appraising look is leveled Hyunwoo’s way. For a moment, he fears he’s crossed a line. This man is a waiter at a gay bar, in one of the most popular club districts in the city, he probably gets flirted with all the time. Hell, Hyunwoo doesn’t even know his name-

A hand is thrust out in front of him. “I’m Hoseok.”

Hyunwoo hesitates the barest second before reaching and grasping it. “Hyunwoo. Nice to meet you.”

Hoseok snorts. He looks charmed. “You too.” He sneaks a glance at the watch on his wrist, pouting at what he finds. 

“I get off in two hours… Do you wanna go somewhere after? I know a great 24 hour fried chicken place, it’s not far.”

Hoseok’s eyebrows slope up as he waits for an answer. Hyunwoo’s mouth dries up at the pretty expression it paints of his soft face. “Yeah, absolutely. I love fried chicken, so. Sounds great.”

He wants to flick himself for sounding so dorky, but Hoseok just keeps on smiling at him.

“Looks like we found our third thing.”

Hyunwoo doesn’t hide his grin, knowing he must look like an idiot and not caring in the slightest. Warmth travels through his extremities, having nothing to do with the fruity alcohol. When Hoseok goes back to the counter, looking apologetic and explaining that he should probably start doing his job before his manager notices, Hyunwoo is left sipping on his drink, smiling down at the table top. He plays with the confetti beneath his fingertips.

Maybe he should actually thank Minhyuk this time.


End file.
